Improvement in pneumatic annunciators



2 sheetssheet -1.

(J. E. ZIMDARS. Pneumatic Annunciator.

Patented Dec. 2, 1879.

FlG.4-. FlG.5.

F'IG.1.

Flea.

fizz/ado)? N.PETERS PHOTO-LJTNOGRAFHER. WASHINGTON. D c,

2 Sheets-Sheet 2. G, E. ZIMDARS.

, Pneumatic Annunoiator. No. 222,343. Patented Dec. 2, I879.-

N PETERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. D C.

ooNRAn n. ZIMD-ARS, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

IMPROVEMENT :IN PNEUMATIC ANNUNCIATORS."

Y s eeijfi'eatieh forming are Letters Patent Ne..222,343, dated December2, 1879 application filed September 2-2, 1879.

. Be it known that I,{GONRA1 E. ZIMDARS," f'of London,in the county ofMiddl'esex, Eng- I land, have inventedcertain new and usefulImprovements in Pneumatic Signaling "-Appalat s and I' do jhereby'declare-that the following is a full, clear, and exact descrip- .1 tion,of the in.vention,-which will en able. others. {skilled inlih'e'arttofwliich it. appertains'to= ,inake and; use thesame, reference beinghad ,{co theaccompauying"ldfrawinga -and to let ters reference markedthereon, which ,form

a part of this specification. i

This invention relates to animproveinentin In the drawings, Figure 1 isacross-section of the I air-compressor, showing the arrange ment of theflexible air-chamber, expanding ring spring, ,push,(rose,) and couplingswith the air-chamber case.fl1*ig."2 is a cross-sectiOn of the rose,showing its arrangement with I the coupling-tube. Fig. 3; is across-section of the coupling-tube atright an glesto that shown in Fig;2. Fig. 4is a front view of thecjoupling yoke. Fig. 5 is afsideyiew ofthe same. Fig. 6 is a cross sectioniof the flexible-airchamber. 'i Fig.Tisa cross-section of the airchamber case. Fig.8fis a topiview'of thesame. Fig. 9 is asideflel'evation offthe' bell; and tablets with".the;mechanism in arrange ment .for operating them. FigJlO is a frontelevationof sameyand Figfll is a side ele-f ration, the reverse oftli'atshown in Fig. 9.

A is the cylindrical 'airj-ch amber case, of suitfable size, composing apart of the air-co npressor. It has a hole, a, in the center of itsbottom, and a.tiibe,-a, attached to the under {side of the bottom, withone end closed, while theotheris open,.and -,extends beyond the edge ofthe casetojreceive another-tube on it,

Uwhich connects theiainco npressor with' the signaling apparatus.

chamber.

other. by'the sides of the chamber with the flange, and ,is designed tokeep the chamber sides ex;

The case A also has two holeaiate eh ed opposite to each other near the'top edgesfof the case, to receive the coupling-yoke.. Itmay have aseries of such holes arrangedtiulike manner to accommodate the rose,arranged w th coupling-tube, to any desired position.

B is a cylindrical air-chamber, with a dometop, and made of any suitableffleXibleQ nate. rial. It is open at its bottom orinner end,

BZand is so formed that itsritnoredge B,

surrounding the open inner end, willfitsnuglyinto theangle A at theinner or "closechend of the cylindrical case A, thus securingfan airtight joint between the said casingandair- It has a flange, 00 ,011) its:bottom edges, of the same material, projecting inward a suitabledistance, to the more eflectually provide air-tight contact with] the,case in which it fits. This flange is at right angles to the. sides ofthe air-chamber; The: angle so made fits snugly in the right-anglecorner of the air-compressor case. p V

."The air-chamber B is provided withanflexpanding ring, a, the ends ofwhich lap each It is arranged in the cornerfafiemade panded against thesides of thecase. It is further provided with a. spiral spring, a hav-'in'gits base larger than the top, so that when pressed together the wireis all on the same horizontal plane, and occupies the least pos siblevertical space in the chamber; This .spring is placed in the air-chambercase with its large side down over the hole aiwhen the air-chamber isplaced in over it.' 1 n The sides of the air-chamber .fit snugly againstthe sides of the air -chambericase, so

' as to be air-tight when pressedupon; This air-chamber may be madeofaflezgiblehrnaterial sufficiently heavy and elastic to dispense withthe spiral spring a which I preferably useas hereinbefore described. l ip :O isa coupling-yoke, made with a central hole, I)", and two oppositeextending. arms, a Eachiarm is provided on its endwith a shoulder, a,and fingers a and a hooked on their n V end at right angles with theflat side ofthe The, hole a-comnnin cates with the interior e of thewhen, for the purpose of compressing airthi'ough it. i

yoke, and in the same direction, One of the fingers, a is longer thanthe other, so thatit may be inserted in one of the holes a and passedthrough far enough to admit the other arm on the inside of the case tobe put through the other and opposite hole a These hooked fingers areconstructed in relation to the holes a so that the yoke must be turnedsidewise to be inserted in the said holes, and when through to be turnedupright again, the hooks fitting snugly against the outside of the case,so as to prevent coming out.

The yoke is slit at b outward about oneeighth of an inch on oppositesides of the hole I), on a line with the arms a a The cor- 11ers I) madeby one of these slits are bent, one down and the other up, while thosemade by the opposite slit are bent in the reverse direction, so as toform inclined planes, with shoulders over them, which, on the upper sideof the yoke, arrest and turn the couplinghooks b down the inclineplanes, while on the lower side they act as stops, preventing thecoupling-hooks from turning over. This yoke rests, as described, in theholes a a and couples with the coupling-tube D, which has the rose Eattached to it.

D is a coupling-tube, having an outwardextending shoulder, b, at itstop, and'provided with two open slots, b, at its bottom edges, arrangedopposite to each other, and having at their closed side coupling-hooksI) projecting outward at right angles to the tube. Itis further providedwith holes b in its sides for attaching it to the rose E.

E is a rose of suitable design, havingahole in its center, in which thecoupling-tube D is fastened, and so arranged in relation to theair-compressor ease and the yoke C that the coupling-hooks 11 inslidingdown theinclines b and turning, spring or draw up the yoke, andproduce a tension of the rose against the case.

The button or thumb-piece has a disk, [1 attached to its lower end. Thebutton or thumb-piece is placed in the tube I), with the disk b againstthe air-chamber, which completes the working arrangement of theaircompressor.

When I so desire, I attach the button or thumb-piece b to theair-chamber by means of a second disk on the insitle of the said chamberscrewed up tight to the outside one. This air-compressor connects by atube to the signaling apparatus, and produces the signals by pressing onthe button or thumb-piece b which compresses the air -chamber and forcesair through tubes y into and operates the ringing mechanism.

F is a board, to which is attached the bellows, bell, and tabletmechanism of my invention. It has a series of holes arranged along itslower side, over which a corresponding series of circular bellows, c, ofsuitable size and construction, are attached, and so arranged that atube, 3 communicating with the interior of each of the said bellows,passes through the said holes and communicates with the air-compressorhereinbefore explained, by means of which the bellows are inflated.

Two arms, a, are attached opposite each other on the sides of the boardF, and project forward and obliquely upward. They are each provided withtwo holes, one at the end and the other near the point of attachment, inwhich are journaled two shafts, c and 0 The lower shaft, 0 isimmediately above and in front of the bellows 0, so that the saidbellows, when inflated, will pass under it. This shaft 0 is providedwith a series of arms, 0, corresponding to and arranged over the bellows0. Disks are fastened to the free end. of said arms, and arranged withtheir fiat side in contact with the bellows, so that they may be carriedout by the inflation of the bellows and turn the shaft 0 To shaft 0 isattached another arm, 0 extending forward and at right angles to thebellows-arms c. 'When any one of the bellows is inflated it pushes outthe arm a, which turns the shaft 0', as above described, and raises thearm 0 This in turn raises the vertical red at by lifting on a pin, 11,to ring the bell. The rod d, near its lower end, passes verticallythrough a guide, at, attached to the board F under the shaft of, Theupper end of rod d is pivoted to a levendt, the inner end of which isrigidly attached/go the segmentaxle d and operates the ringingmechanism. The outer end of the lever d"v has a weight, d attached, toaid the segment'in dropping back after ringing the bell. Thesegment-axle d is journaled in a frame, c, attached to and near the topof the board F. Ingthis frame is arranged the ringing mechanism, whichconsists of a gear-segment, lantern-pinion ratchet, escapement-wheel,and escapement with hammer. y

d is acircular rack or segment, which gears with the lantern-pinion 01which, together with the wheels d and 0, forms the escapement ormechanism of ordinary construction immediately connecting with andimparting motion to the hammer e.

The circular rack or segment at" has its center in the axle (1 on whichit rotates. This axle or center shaft d is journaled in the frame 0, andis so arranged relatit ely to the pinion d that the cogs of the segment01 will continue meshed with the cogs of the pinion (1, giving constantmotion to the latter as the said segment is rotated upward by the actionof the pneumatic bellows on the shaft d. I employ this rotating rack orsegment in order to avoid the friction, and consequent binding, whichattends the use of straight racks.

The sensitiveness of the pneumatic bellows c is such that it is almostimpossible to preserve its action in the given direct line with theshaft which connects itwith the ringing mechanism. The force, varyingits direction, causes a straight rack to bind in its bearin gs, thusimpairing the action of the signal. To

overcome this difficulty I have employed the rotating segment at, towhich I connect the actuating-shaft (I, so that the latter will have ahinge or pivotal movement at the point of in Fig. 12, any variation inthe action of the bellows will not impair the action of the segment. a i

The arrangement of the shaft d so that its upperend is attached to anarm fixed on the extended end of the shaft (1 is made where a number ofbellows, c, are placed in the same casing, and the place of one of themfalls immediately below the segment and ringing appa-ratus.v The shaft01 is set 011' to one side and between two of the bellows, and isconnected to the segment, as described and shown. An escapement, 0,attached to a shaft back of the escapement-wheel, and journaled in theframe 0 is operated by the escapementwheel. Attached to theescapement-shaft is an upward-projecting arm or handle, 6 on the upperend of which is a hammer, 0, which strikes the bell e rapidly, producinga shattering or trembling tone.

it The-bell e is fastened on the upper end of astatf, 0 by a set-screw.The lower end is screwed to one of the sides of the frame c immediatelyover the segment d and front of the lantern-pinion d".

When it is preferred to do so, the box or casing containing my inventioncan be so constructed that the bellows c may be fixed under the end ofthe shaft d, so that the action of the bellows will be directly on thesaid shaft, thus obviating thc necessity of indirect action through themedium of theshaft and arms 0 and c a This construction is more clearlyshown in Fig. 12, in which the upper end of 'the' shaft d is attacheddirectly to thesegment d7. When thus arranged, the reacting-weight d canbe attached direct to the segment 11', or may be connected by an arm to.the shaft or. axle of the segment, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10.

It will be seen that when the parts are arranged as in Fig. 12 thebellows 0, when inflated, will adjust itself to the circular movement ofthe segment 61 and preserve a uniform upward pressure, insuring aperfect action.

Upon the shaftc? is hung a series of indicating-tablets, f, so thattheymay be raised or lowered at pleasure. They are arranged t at stateddistances apart, and held in their place by long pins or armsf and theshort pins f These tablets arelconstructed with a shoulder, f,.textending laterally from each of the lower ends of its sides, bywhich they are raised by th'epins f lifting against them when the shaft0 turns.

Immediately behind the shaft 0 and nearly over the bellows c, is fixedin the board F a series of slotted studs, f corresponding in number andposition to the series of tablets. In the slots of eachof these ishinged a tablet-lever, f the lower end of which is curved and balancedto automatically rest in contact with the bellows 0, while the upperend'stands outfromthe board F, and is provided with a shoulder, f on'itsfront side, to receive and hold up the tablets when raised. When thebellows expand, the upper end of these levers is carried back and dropsthe tablets. Immediately above the upper end of thetabletlevers f 5 along pin, f is fixed, which jprevents the tablets from being thrown overwhen raised with too much force.

The shaft 0 is provided atone of its ends with an arm or lever, frigidly attached. Pivoted to the free end of this lever is alifting-hook, f which carries the lever f up, turning the shaft 0 and therebyraising the tablets f to and resting them upon the shoul- (lers f bymeans of the arms f liftin'gagainst the shoulders f a At a suitabledistance above the lever f" is a bracket, g, fixed to the boardFandextending out nearly as far as the shaft 0 Its outer end is providedwith an openslot, in which is fastened a tube, g, by means oftwo-set-nuts, one above and one below the bracket." The upper end ofthis tube is attached to'the under side of andcommunicateswith'theinterior of a circular bellows, g close' to' andresting on the upper nut, fasteningit to the bracket. The lower partextends back and through the board F, and continues until connected withan'aincompressor, hereinbefore described.

To the upper side of the bellows g is attached a vertical guide-pin, g,which passes, through and moves in the guide'g,-attached to the board Fat a suitable distance, "above to allow the expansion of the bellows Italso passes through a hole in the upper-end of the lifting-hook f andserves as a guide and-stay for it while the bellows, in expanding,raises it to operate the tablet mechanism.

The other end of the shaft 0 extends through the bearing-arm c, and hasrigidly attached on its end a lever or arm, g having the concave orcam-shaped recess or bearing 9 formed in its front edge near its centerof motion, to receive the action of the push h, arranged in the framecontaining the hereinbefore de-- scribed mechanism, for the purpose ofraising the signal-tablets when desired, in preference to' using thebellows-raising method already described. This lever is made heavy, andarranged parallel with the lifting-arms f, so that its gravity willcarry the said arms back and force the push it outward into theposition. it occupied prior to its use in raising the tablets, asdescribed.

As'before stated, I have provided, in addi' tion to thehereinbetore-described pneumatic arrangement for resetting the tablets,another method to be operatedby the push h, fixed in the case h, whenthe said case is .located con venient to hand. It consists of the push hoperating against the weighted lever g The said push passes through aguide-plate, h, set

in the end of the case h adjacent to the lever g and provided on itsinner end with a groove running around it. A spring, hfl'slottedin itsupper end, engages with the inner end of the push it fitting in the saidgroove, and is, at its lower end, attached. to the innersideof case It,and arranged to carry the push back after resetting the tablets.

It will be seen the operation of my invention is: By pressing on thebutton or thumbpiece I) of the air-compressor airis forced to thesignaling apparatus in a distant apartment, to which it is connected bytubes, and rings the bell, while at the same time it drops a tablet,showing who or what is desired. The tablet is then reset by either ofthe hereinbeforedescribed methods, and in readiness for the next signal.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. In a pneumatic signaling apparatus, the combination, with thecylindrical casing A, having the opening a, of the flexible cylindricalair-chamber .8, having its inner end, B, open, and so formed that therim or edge B surrounding the open end B will fit snugly into the angleA of the casing A, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a pneumatic signaling apparatus having a cylindrical casing, A,provided with an opening, a, the cylindrical air-chamber B, open at itsinner end, and constructed so that its rim fits snugly into the angle A,and is provided with a flange, a projecting inward from the rim B, andat right angles to its sides, substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

3. The combination, with the flexible airchambcr B, open at its bottom,and the airchamber case A, having opening a, of the expanding ring a,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. The combination, with the air-chamber case A and the rose E, having acouplingtube,D, provided with hooks b, of the yoke 0,

held by any suitable means to the case A, and having the radial slits band the points b 1) formed by said slits turned outward in oppositedirections, forming inclines and stops, substantially as and for thepurposes specified.

5. The combination, with the escapement mechanism for operating thehammer e, of the rotating segment or rack 11", journaled in the frame 0and meshing with the escapement-pinion d", shaft d, having its upper endhinged or pivoted to the segment (1", and the bellows 0, arranged tooperate substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The combination, with the tablet-shaft 0 of the weighted lever 9having the concave or cam-shaped recess or hearing g formed in its frontedge near its center of motion. and the push-rod it, moving in hearingsin the front frame, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. In a pneumatic signaling apparatus, the combination, with thetablet-shaft provided with an arm, f, of the connecting link or bar fand bellows g operated by a suitable airbulb and connecting air-tube,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I aflix my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

CONRAD E. ZIMDARS. Witnesses:

EDWIN BALTZBY, GEORGE T. GRAHAM.

